Stan Le Lievre (31 July 1920 – 18 March 2003) was an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er who played with St Kilda in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

(VFL).

Career

Le Lievre came from Katandra and had a stint with the St Kilda seconds in 1940, before joining the senior list in 1945. He made 12 appearances for St Kilda in the

1945 VFL season The 1945 VFL season was the 49th season of the Victorian Football League (1897–1989), Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 21 A ...

, as a

centre half-forward In Australian rules football, the centre half-forward is a position on the half-forward line of a football field. The directly opposing player is a centre half-back. Royce Hart of the Richmond Football Club and Wayne Carey of the North Melbou ...

. Before the 1946 season began, St Kilda lost the services of full-back Ken Walker, who left to coach

Burnie Burnie ( ; Aboriginal Tasmanians#North, pirinilaplu/palawa kani: ''Pataway'') is a port city located on the North West Tasmania, north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. It is the fourth largest city on the island, located approximately north ...

. This meant Le Lievre was tried at full-back, when he played his first game of the season in round eight. He lost his place in the team after two games, before he returned in round 17 and played in the final three rounds. In the opening round of the

1947 VFL season The 1947 VFL season was the 51st season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 19 April until 27 September, and comprised a ...

, Le Lievre was reported for "hacking" (forcing an opponent off balance by taking out his feet). The VFL Tribunal found that Le Lievre had kicked Footscray player Tim Robb and handed down a 12-week suspension. During his time out of the side, Le Lievre finished third in a long distance kicking competition for league footballers, with a 65 and a half yard kick. He returned to league football in round 18, a 34-point loss to

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

. The following weekend, in the final round of the season, Le Lievre was matched up against

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

full-forward

Fred Fanning Fred Fanning (5 November 1921 – 23 May 1993) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Melbourne Football Club, Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (1897–1989), Victorian Football League (VFL) who holds the record for most g ...

, who ended the game with a league record 18 goals. He later reflected, "Nobody wants to put their hand up to playing on him but it doesn't worry me". It would be Fanning's final appearance in the VFL and also the last league game for Le Lievre. He transferred to Oakleigh in the

Victorian Football Association The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

in 1948. In 1950 he was the inaugural coach for the newly formed

Oakleigh District Football Club The Oakleigh District Football Netball Club is a semi-professional Australian rules football club in the southern suburbs of Melbourne. The club currently participates in Division 3 of the Eastern Football Netball League. History Late in 19 ...

and led the side to the 1953 premiership. After finishing his playing career he served as an executive first with the Oakleigh District club before moving into the executive of the Caulfield Oakleigh District Football League in 1957. He performed similar duties with the South East Suburban Football League including a number of years as the league President. He received an award from the Victorian Football Union for his services to football in 1977 and then the National Football League Merit Award in 1985. Le Lievre was inducted posthumously into the

Southern Football League The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven a ...

Hall of Fame in 2015.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Le Lievre, Stan 1920 births Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) St Kilda Football Club players Oakleigh Football Club players 2003 deaths 20th-century Australian sportsmen